Friday, September 23, 2016

Alex Perez speaking on the restoration of the house on Chihuahua & Seymour.

We finally started the project. You know, there's a lot of interest in this house, you know. On Facebook, at city council meetings, there's a lot, a lot of interest. We've been at this already for four years. Finally you can see a big change in the gardens.

It used to be an old abandoned house. Now it's looking like, you know, people are paying attention to it. The flowers everywhere are blooming, you know; the people pass by, they're honking. It's gonna be a great project. This house has been around (for) since 1920 so it's about 100 years old.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

This is my view when I was exiting the Domino's Pizza on Zapata Hwy & Palo Blanco. I took the photo in July. The reason I focused on the R&S gas station over yonder is because it appeared to be closed for good. A couple of blocks north of that establishment stands a former Wendy's.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

My interest in professional sports doesn't go far beyond football. It's the one sport I've kept up with since grade school. One aspect of the game that I find unsettling, however, is showboating. I can't stand tasteless celebratory acts, even when they're done by players of my favorite team.

Last night Antonio Brown burned a Redskin defender and scored a touchdown. After the play, Brown did some sort of twerk/Kegel/pelvic thrust move. That's how he celebrated.

It's real easy for an NFL game to turn into a circus. For that reason, I propose that the league do away with the pre-game formality of playing the National Anthem. Get rid of that solemn ritual; It has no place in a setting where grown men are going to act like brutes.

Friday, September 9, 2016

Former City of Laredo spokesperson Xochitl Mora did an interesting thing the other day: she shared with her old media contacts an article that highlights the glory of McAllen, TX.

Mora moved to McAllen last month to be the spokesperson for the valley metropolis that apparently sets the standard for all the others. She packed up and moved on to greener pastures. The new chapter in her life, however, did not include a purging of her old email blast list.

Oh sure, I enjoyed getting rain total updates, and bridge revenue reports when she worked for our humble hamlet; But she's got a new boss, and audience now. Her focus should be directed towards keeping valley residents in the know. When I signed up for email updates from Ms. Mora, I expected to be kept aware of local happenings, not McAllen's. She's now assuming that we all want to know, and that we should know, what's going on outside our borders.

One of her followers didn't appreciate the media alert.

The reason I take issue with Mora's approach is centered on getting unsolicited information from a person with whom I didn't have a personal connection. When she was in Laredo, I asked her a question or two about local business, and that was it. Our acquaintance was simply professional and distant. Her recent outreach isn't really a surprise, however. The McAllen press release she sent out to her Laredo contacts is typical Xochitl Mora.

In 2010 I took issue with Ms. Mora making an announcement on behalf of St. Peters Memorial School. She promoted the private school to the media contacts she acquired through her role as a city staffer. It was done on several occasions. She overstepped her boundaries and she's still doing it.

The writer (in the featured passage above) who criticized Mora in an email reply spoke to the expectation of trust in establishing a professional relationship. I appreciate his point of view, especially if sensitive information is going to be shared. At the very least, Ms. Mora's approach is lazy and unconcerned with details. I can probably block her updates, or ask to be excluded from the mailing list. But it would be more thoughtful of her to ask her contacts if they want to continue getting press releases from a different city.

There is an etiquette to email. Unfortunately Xochitl Mora still hasn't figured that out.

LaSanbe

Random Thoughts

My blog updates don't have a pattern. My posts can be about anything, but I like to focus on my hometown of Laredo, TX. You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Or you can enter your email in the box above to get alerts of any new blog posts. Thank you for visiting. Last thing: if you want to go down the LaSanbe rabbit hole, scroll up and punch in key words in the search box in the upper left hand corner to view specific subjects.